Keeping girls in school and taking young climate leaders seriously are keys to tackling climate change, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai said on Friday.

An arctic fox also known as polar and white fox of Vorkuta eats a piece of cake thrown by passengers of Khorota railway station as wild animals suffer from hunger due to extreme weather condition in Vorkuta, Komi Repbulic, Russia on March 8. Photo: VCG

Speaking to a virtual panel, Malala, 23, said educating girls and young women, particularly in developing countries, would give them a chance to pursue green jobs and be part of solving the climate crisis in their communities.

"Girls' education, gender equality and climate change are not separate issues. Girls' education and gender equality can be used as solutions against climate change," Malala told an online event by British think-tank Chatham House.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, some 130 million girls worldwide were already out of school, according to the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO, which said more than 11 million may not return to classes after the pandemic.

"When we educate girls... they can become farmers, conservationists, solar technicians, they can fill other green jobs as well. Problem-solving skills can allow them to help their communities to adapt to climate change."

From sexual violence in displacement camps to extra farm work, women and girls shoulder a bigger burden from worsening extreme weather and other climate pressures pushing people to move for survival, global aid group CARE International says.

Scientists expect forced displacement to be one of the most common and damaging effects on vulnerable people if global warming is not limited.